Tribute to father, an Ethiopian freedom fighter, starts Sunday

The Associated PressA photogrpaher is beaten by Ethiopian police outside the house of Hailu Shawul the leader opposition party the Coalition for Unity and Democracy in Addis Ababa. Journalists had gone Saturday to Hailu Shawal's house to check on reports that he was under house arrest. The photographer received only minor injuries.

We waited until this week to decide on the launch date because communication has been difficult with Millete and Darin in Ethiopia. Election protests complicated the end of their six-week stay there.

Fortunately, they’re back safe and sound. We considered delaying a week on the series, but the Father’s Day angle for the first installment is just too good to wait.

I hope you online-only readers will pick up a copy of the Sunday Tribune. Darin’s photos are too gorgeous to see only in a small pixel format. Assistant managing editor Kelly Tracer’s design also is spectacular. Of course, the driving force for it all is Millete’s powerful story. (If you missed earlier discussion of this project, click here: http://www.greeleytrib.com/article/20050503/BLOG/50503002)

Here’s Millete’s final blog post. She wrote it in Ethiopia before returning Monday:

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There had been rumors all along that violent civil unrest would break in Addis Ababa after the elections if the ruling part retained power. Perhaps someone should have taken those threats more seriously.

I am standing on the second-floor balcony of my hotel after being drawn out to the sounds of screaming women. I look down the alley next to my hotel to the sight of more than two dozen uniformed policemen running past twice as many people scurrying for shelter. Off in the distance, the police split up in two directions and then are out of sight.

Less than five minutes later I hear a loud “bang!” It was one shot as if the target was in clear range. People in the alley grasp the sides of their heads in mourning, and even I feel a tear drop roll down my cheek.

There is no breaking news alert or special report on TV. Frankly, no one really knows what happened or what is happening elsewhere at this hectic time in the city. But as the clouds part in the gloomy sky allowing the sun to shine down just for a brief second ” we know the fate of whoever it was the police were chasing.

Yesterday, I heard at least two dozen shots fired while my 13-year-old sister was getting her hair done at a salon near my uncle’s house. Local news later reported 17 deaths (that was later moved up to more than 20).

The crowded streets of Addis Ababa were silent today as shopkeepers shuttered and bolt locked their doors, and half the taxi drivers went on strike while the rest stayed home afraid of rioters throwing rocks to destroy any normality in the city. Rioters burned and threw rocks at public buses loaded with people. Things seem to be getting more and more out of control on both sides here.

The people in the alley next to my hotel finally began to clear away after trying to decipher amongst themselves what happened. The police must have left in another direction because I don’t see them again.

In the meanwhile, solemn sounds from a church speaker, normally droned out my the chaotic sounds of the city, fill the air. I ” like the people retiring to their homes marking a cross on their bodies by touching their forehead, chest and then each shoulder” pray that the situation in Addis ends with minimal bloodshed.